Cloudflare Reviews

Cloudflare serves as both a Content Delivery Network and a security system. When integrated into the software, it optimizes content loading speeds, ensuring users access content swiftly. Additionally, Cloudflare safeguards websites from various cyber threats, providing security. 

DDoS attacks target unprotected machines. Cloudflare detects and stops these attacks using internal systems. It identifies incoming DDoS attacks, issuing challenges or blocking them immediately.

In Cloudflare, numerous features cater to web security needs. Conducting thorough research on your company's operations is crucial for configuring VAS. This involves determining which requests to whitelist, challenge, or block. Additionally, Cloudflare offers rate-limiting capabilities for endpoints. You can set limits to the number of requests, preventing overload situations. Another valuable feature is the ability to implement geoblocking using IDS rules.

When a user accesses the website, Cloudflare's CDN system checks for static content such as JavaScript files, CSS, and HTML. It then caches this static content on its CDN servers across approximately 140 data centers worldwide. When subsequent users request the same content, Cloudflare serves it from the nearest data center, improving performance.

Cloudflare's impact on SEO rankings and website visibility is notable. Collaborating with the business team to optimize website loading speed can benefit SEO.

We're facing challenges due to an upgrade in the machine learning model. The problem arises from some users abusing the APIs, resulting in an influx of suspicious traffic. Cloudflare's learning model mistakenly identifies this traffic as human. Consequently, it assigns it a higher trust score, akin to legitimate human traffic, causing complications in our architecture. Previously, such traffic would have been categorized as suspicious, enabling us to apply appropriate blocking rules. However, we encounter difficulties distinguishing between genuine and suspicious traffic with the new categorization. Despite these challenges, overall, Cloudflare remains the preferred solution compared to Azure, AWS CloudFront, and Google Cloud Armor.

I have been using the product for five years. 

I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten. 

I rate the product's scalability an eight out of ten. 

The tool's support takes at least one hour to respond. 

Neutral

I rate the tool's ease of deployment a ten out of ten. It's very quick. Deployment time largely depends on how we configure it, whether done through coding or the UI. For a single-user setup, it's straightforward. However, for more complex configurations with multiple use cases, it can vary. However, setting up a single zone for production load typically takes less than an hour.

The product's pricing is cheap. 

Our clients include larger companies such as one that sells automobile parts globally, another that deals with banks and financial institutions, etc. It is mostly recommended for enterprises. 

I highly recommend Cloudflare as a superior solution compared to others in the market. It offers coverage for various use cases, including SaaS products, web application security, and Content Delivery Network systems. Additionally, Cloudflare provides features like the Magic Transit system, which helps control internal traffic.

I rate it a ten out of ten. 

We typically use it to safeguard websites, especially web applications.

The UI is good.

Explaining the pricing structure can be quite intricate because they often segment it differently. For instance, when it comes to static content and content delivery, some providers, like Akamai, offer separate pricing for static and website content. This approach simplifies the pricing aspect.

On the other hand, Cloudflare's pricing is based on bandwidth, which makes it somewhat more complex. Additionally, the timing aspect can lead to it being considered overpriced. This is a particular concern we have with Cloudflare, as they may struggle with accurately detecting the client.

It is stable.

It is scalable.

In Thailand, we have the perception that support should ideally come through a reseller rather than directly from the software provider. This is especially true when we are dealing with larger enterprises. In such cases, it makes sense to obtain support directly from the company, even though the pricing may be more favorable. The key factor is the language in which the support is offered, which, in this case, is in Thai.

Neutral

I believe that because we reside in Thailand and primarily operate in this market, Akamai has a better understanding of the Thai market model and cost structure. Moreover, Akamai has strong partnerships with various mobile operators and mini-operators in Thailand, which adds to their advantage. However, I must admit that the user interface (UI) of Akamai is somewhat lacking compared to Cloudflare. When it comes to security, Akamai often outperforms Cloudflare. But if we consider content delivery, I find Cloudflare to be a hundred times better.

I use both of these services for video delivery, specifically customized online content delivery tasks. They facilitate the distribution of video content over the network. In this regard, Akamai is one of my top choices as it excels compared to other software options.

The initial setup is very easy.

I believe their performance has improved, but I'd like to refrain from discussing the pricing aspect related to the cloud. The pricing, in my opinion, could be simplified, and I think they should consider reevaluating the pricing for support, as it can be quite high. At times, this cost can make it challenging to choose Cloudflare or opt for the support.

When we opt for Cloudflare, it's typically because the website requires protection, and users expect an automated investigation. The company's user interface is a notable advantage in this decision. However, this is not unique to Cloudflare and is a common feature among its competitors as well.

If you don't have significant funds, our initial suggestion might be to try the free tier first. This way, you can gain a better understanding of your specific requirements before considering alternatives. However, it's worth noting that Cloudflare is relatively user-friendly and straightforward to use, making it one of the easiest options available

I would overall rate it a six out of 10.

We use the solution to personalize content and suggestions for cloud environment and database administration.

We're creating and editing a service connection to SaaS data or third-party REST endpoints, which has been an intrinsic process to moderate governance and network discovery. 

There's also the challenge of blending this next-generation technology with the many pieces of legacy equipment currently deployed across the defense landscape. Traditional components such as RFICs (radio frequency integrated circuits) and digital-signal-processing units (DSPs) can continue to be used. Preeminent services also include providing its customers the cloud strategy, recommendations, and roadmap to make their information technology infrastructure modern, optimized, secure, compliant, reliable, and better performing.

We're using dynamic components to build flexible pages to create and manage Git merge requests for code and reviews.  

Insurance Industry Modeling. Today, most companies rely on an infrastructure foundation designed for general-purpose components that feature next-generation advancements in sector reproduction. This technology is rather familiar in deployment settings of code and technology law. It should confirm audit findings of the assigned area with auditees to ensure that the audit conclusions are based on an accurate understanding of the issues. 

I've used the solution for three years.

To help leaders address issues, many vendors offer promising data governance innovations and technologies. Yet, assessing the innovations' potential value is problematic. 

We did not previously use a different solution. 

The representative interviews and financial analysis found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $903,000 over three years versus costs of $216,000 - adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $687,000 and an ROI of 318%.

I'd advise users to conduct a closing meeting with the auditee’s key management to ensure that final audit findings are accurate and meet the current financial agenda. 

We did not evaluate other options; they were the same options.

Monitor the progress against the audit program to ensure the audit is completed, in a timely and quality manner and prepare an audit report for governance.

We launched the application on the WLP engine. Our website hosts various images, media files, and other external files. We use Cloudflare to ensure faster website delivery.

Google page scripts contribute to the size of web pages. Cloudflare optimizes these scripts and other page elements to improve performance. Techniques like minification and image compression reduce the size of assets, leading to better performance and faster user load times.

It can improve the central time, performance, and SEO schema. 

Cloudflare performs well with static content. However, there are some performance considerations when it comes to dynamic content that involves fetching data from databases or using APIs.

We are not currently using Cloudflare for an e-commerce website. Still, if we were to add an e-commerce site on a platform with region-specific pricing and content, Cloudflare's service might need improvements in handling these dynamic requirements.

I have been using Cloudflare for two years.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The initial setup is easy.

The tool's pricing is moderate.

I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

I recommend the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

I had one design that I did, and it was related to Cloudflare API Gateway. Anything that comes in the front-end URL was basically something to deal with Cloudflare API gateway. Based on separations required in Cloudflare DNS, I set the traffic manager and then manage areas, like configuration, DDoS, and all such related areas. The aforementioned area helps manage the traffic that comes in, the load of the application, how you want to secure access and authentication, and then have the authorization.

In Cloudflare DNS, I use all the service modules the tool offers. The use cases attached to the solution can be related to areas like performance checks, protection, security modules, scalability, and allocation frequency of checking DNS.

The most valuable features of the solution are performance and security.

Cloudflare DNS is still a new tool in the market. I haven't come across any issues with the product. I did two designs with the help of Apigee and Cloudflare. I had done one design with the help of Apigee, while the other one was done with Cloudflare. In a lot of organizations, when it comes to the area of design, companies don't understand the broader perspective of what I try to do, how I try to do it or try to understand the right configuration needed. Areas like how assessment, discovery, and payload are dealt with and how it all comes into your organization can be considered when trying to make suggestions to Cloudflare for improvements. The improvements to be made in the tool can be based on your thought process instead of trying to bring up something that is over-prescribed or over-allocated by others, which won't make sense. Based on the functional requirements of every user of the tool, improvements need to be made to the product.

I have experience with Cloudflare DNS.

Initially, I used to use Apigee. Cloudflare DNS was chosen since management made a business decision to deal with the security requirements. Cloudflare DNS has a lot of different compliances and regulations, and related areas, like authentication and authorization, are introduced in the tool. Things change constantly in the product.

When it comes to the product's initial setup phase, I have dealt with a lot of complexity when it comes to different applications, especially with the ones where I had to deal with AWS. Users need to bundle their applications, especially when there are critical applications, which may range from platinum, gold, silver, or bronze applications. Users need a landing zone, and they need to put everything in one particular landing zone, making it one of the Year's good use cases of the product to which a lot of people don't pay much attention; because of this, I feel it is my vision related to the product. I feel the companies need to see what the product can offer rather than just using the tool straight out of the box.

In every organization, there is a security component involved, and as long as the tool meets the requirements of the security layers in an environment, the product's setup phase is somewhat straightforward, but I am sure you could do a lot of different stuff with the tool. I don't think the setup process is complex, considering just a single source when it comes to the product, which revolves around the area of security. Based on the workload, users can make the setup process complex. I don't like straightforward processes, especially when dealing with critical applications that need to be designed in a particular way and could be totally different from the other applications in an environment. I am the type of person who likes to make the setup process more complicated and unique. When it comes to the setup process, users can choose different avenues to ensure that the resource separation is consistent in the setup phase.

Cloudflare is designed to offer API Gateway, Traffic Acceleration, and DNS. Based on your pages and URL performance, Apigee is a solution you can use, and you could tie that in either AWS, Google, or Azure, or if you are making a SaaS application going through a front-end web component and have a pass-through gateway.

Cloudflare DNS is a pretty solid product as it is not tied to any cloud environment.

I rate the overall tool around seven or eight out of ten.

We used the solution mostly as a DNS registry. I was the director of IT, and we had dozens of web assets, websites, and domain names. Instead of hosting the domain names with our content host, I would redirect pretty much all of them through Cloudflare to mitigate DDoS attacks and provide some resiliency. Our content host was largely WordPress based and backed by AWS. It was my go-to DNS registry for domain name verification or email security because we didn't run one on-premise. So Cloudflare was my DNS registry in effect.

DNS proxy was very valuable to me. The solution automatically detects and responds to certain types of traffic based on geolocation. In my previous organization, our main website experienced up to two million visits in a year. 

There was a four-month curling tournament from the fall to the spring season. It became important to distinguish legitimate viewers and fan traffic where they would want to go and visit our website for information on tournaments to buy tickets and merchandise and to view scores of our major national tournaments. It was important to protect legitimate traffic from illegitimate group-force traffic. 

Though Canada was not a major target for the DDoS attack, it was important that we protect our website through Cloudflare. If we saw a lot of traffic that we wouldn’t usually get, like from Russia, China, or any bot-like behavior, the product would filter it out. We did not have to think about a cyber strategy because the product did it for us. Cloudflare is one of the pioneers of cybersecurity software.

I think the solution is for users at the level of enterprise hosting. It is not meant for small or medium business users or sysadmins. The solution could be more user-friendly.

I would like to see Cloudflare take on more of the advocacy and lobbying role for internet security because they're the leaders in it.

I used the solution in October 2022 in my previous organization.

I have never had a website go down while using the product.

The solution is scalable. The sky is the limit.

The initial setup was pretty easy.

The deployment process is just as simple as knowing your A records. Other than adding or updating new records, I never really had to maintain the product.

A free version of the solution is available. I have never needed anything more than free DNS.

We explored and spoke to a sales representative about one of our flagship CRMs. We were thinking about taking advantage of more of the product's features. We did not go with it because it was a cost reckoning at that point. If we had more scale, it would start to look a little bit more lucrative.

As the geopolitical situation develops, we have to be mindful of cyber threats, even in the small and medium business spheres. People should be more mindful and aware of the tools available. The tool needs to be holistic. It must help users to protect and strengthen their passwords through multifactor authentication. The tool must also protect online businesses.

Entrepreneurs need to be sure that their whole web ecosystem is projected end to end. Cloudflare offers APIs for event logging and analysis. Even if you're using an assembly of tools in your cyber protection toolkit, you can monitor what Cloudflare is detecting and mitigating and report on it holistically. The solution providers are very rigorous about their documentation and learning resources. They're invested in raising general awareness.

A lot of people don't understand DNS security, the routes that web traffic takes around the world, as being very important, but it is important. Data sovereignty is important, and the more that you secure your exchange points within your country and are mindful of the hops that your data takes and how it might be intercepted, the better everyone's awareness will be because people don't think about that stuff.

Sometimes even our websites and web applications were hosted across multiple different providers. A redundant and distributed DNS provider on the cloud, independent of our host, became almost necessary. A lot of people think that it is over-complicating and over-distributing for the web ecosystem. However, I see the security merit of a ubiquitous third-party DNS record host like Cloudflare. If one hosting service goes down, we will still have that redundancy through Cloudflare.

CIRA and .ca domain providers are the only ones advocating for data sovereignty, internet affordability, and accessibility, starting with offering free Canadian Shield DNS registration and partnering with various exchange providers. No one else is advocating for domain name security. Canada does not have any homegrown DNS providers. Everyone defaults to whoever their host is, which may or may not be inside the country.

The only hiccups we've ever had had less to do with Cloudflare and more with one of our other service providers messing around with our domain records. If you were in a situation where you had to adhere to domestic sovereignty and compliance laws, be mindful of where most of your users and traffic are coming from, and then make your decision to buy the product.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We use Cloudflare for security and delivery.

Cloudflare is a security SaaS provider that provides security and protects us from any application layer attack. Feature-wise, Cloudflare is fairly good.

Cloudflare's console should be made more user-friendly.

I have been using Cloudflare for about two to three years.

Cloudflare's stability is fair enough, and I haven't encountered any problems with the platform's stability.

Akamai is more user-friendly and easy to configure on the UI for a new person. Imperva is also a good solution that provides most of the features Akamai provides.

Cloudflare's pricing is not much higher and is good for middle-level organizations.

I have experience with the cloud version of Cloudflare.

I would advise users to explore Cloudflare and Imperva parallelly because they both stand on the same ground regarding security. In Imperva, there is no version control on their console, which was concerning for me.

Overall, I rate Cloudflare a seven out of ten.

When I was in Singapore, I used Cloudflare for DNS management, but when I started at Yoma Bank, I started using the application gateway routing and firewall features. 

I like Cloudflare's application gateway and DDoS protection. 

I would like Cloudflare to offer a dedicated account manager for large enterprise clients like us.

I have used Cloudflare DNS management for around seven years, but I have only used the firewall features for four years. 

I rate Cloudflare eight out of 10 for stability.

I rate Cloudflare eight out of 10 for scalability. 

I rate Cloudflare support seven out of 10. The technical support is mostly fine, but the response times could be better, and we'd like a dedicated account manager. 

Neutral

Before Cloudflare, we relied on on-prem hardware and software solutions.

I rate Cloudflare eight out of 10. The basic setup is straightforward, but you may need to configure some advanced settings in some cases. We finished the setup in under an hour. However, we need to do some regular maintenance. 

I rate Cloudflare eight out of 10 for overall value. It's cost-effective, but I think they should have a custom pricing model for enterprise customers based on the features you use. That's why I think it would be helpful to have a dedicated account manager to periodically review and address our usage. 

I rate Cloudflare seven out of 10. It isn't bad overall, but it's difficult to use in this country.